Fibreboard hogshead



R. c. SPROULL ETAL 3,291,362

Dec. 13, 1966 FIBREBOARD HOGSHEAD 2 Sheecs$heet 2 Filed Dec. 14, 1964 FIG. 7

Reavis C. Sproull,

WilliamAMclniosh,

Donald D. Sedberry INVENTORS ATTOR N EYS United States Patent 3,291,362 FIBREBOARD HOGSHEAD Reavis C. Sproull, Richmond, William A. McIntosh,

Saluda, and Donald D. Sedberry, West Point, Va., as-

SignOrs to The Chesapeake Corporation of Virginia, a

corporation of Virginia Filed Dec. 14, 1964, Ser. No. 417,963 Claims. (Cl. 229-45) This invention relates to a fibreboard hogshead and more particularly it relates to an improved form of container having great utility in the tobacco industry, but likewise being capable of mult-i-purpose uses in the general field of containers.

'Io appreciate the requirements necessary for a container which is to be used in the tobacco industry, recognition must be given to the various steps carried out in the processing of tobacco. Initially, the tobacco is in the form of large leaves, and such leaves are placed in a hogshead to go through a prizing operation. This prizing operation is carried out to adjust the moisture content of the leaves and is accomplished by placing the hogshead, with the leaves therein, in a steam chamber for a preselected interval of time. After the prizing operation, the leaves are removed and put through a de-stemming operation to separate the web part of the leaves from the stems. After this operation, the web part of the leaves is placed back into the hogshead and a pressing operation is performed. In this pressing operation, a large piston descends through the opened top of the hogshead to press and compact the leaves within the hogshead. After this pressingoperation is completed, the top end of the hogshead is closed and the tobacco goes through an aging process. In this aging process, the hogsheads are stacked upon their sides, one upon the other, and are stored for a term of approximately two years. It is widely believed that during this aging period, the hogshead must be able to breathe in order to obtain optimum flavor conditions. Finally, after the aging process has been completed, the hogsheads are opened and the tobacco is removed to be further processed.

During these tobacco processing steps, a ho-gshead may be shipped to any part of the world. Naturally, such shipment not only exposes the hogshead to rough handlin-g conditions, but further exposes it to various climate conditions. Moreover, once the aging process has been completed and the tobacco has been removed from the hogshead, the hogshead itself must often be returned thousands of miles to its place of origin. During such return shipment, the hogshead is empty, and in order to reduce the large volume of space taken up by a hogshead, so that shipping costs might be minimized, it has been the practice to make the hogsheads disassemblable. Thus, by shipping the diassembled parts of the hogshea-ds, rather than the entire assembled hogshead itself, the volume taken up by such shipment is reduced and the shipment costs are thus accordingly reduced.

The conventional hogshead which has been used for a great many years is .a wooden barrel or cask formed by a plurality of separate staves. Such staves are fastened together by external rings, clips, hoops, or other similar fastening means, to form a sort of wooden barrel. When it is desired to diassernble such a wooden hogshead, after the .aging process has been completed and the tobacco removed therefrom, the fastening means are removed and the h-o-gshead is disassembled into individual staves.

Although such wooden hogsheads have been widely used, and have been in use for a great many years, there are still numerous recognized drawbacks and deficiencies associated with hogsheads of this type. First of all, wooden hogsheads are relatively expensive items due to the fact that several individual wooden staves, of proper quality and dimension, must be utilized to form a single hogshead. Moreover, such wooden hogsheads are far too eavy, averaging one hundred to one hundred twenty pounds a piece. Naturally, this weight problem makes handling and shipment far more difficult and expensive. Also, in certain countries, a tobacco tax must be paid on the weight of the filled hogsheads, and when a wooden hogshead is utilized, there is an extra one hundred to one hundred twenty pounds upon which a tax must be paid. Furthermore, wooden hogsheads are too easily damaged and the individual staves are constantly being broken or crushed. When any such damage occurs, there is always the danger that wood splinters will be forced into the tobacco, which raises a problem of adultera-tion. Also, the expenses encountered in repairing such damaged wooden hogshea-ds often amount to a considerable sum. Still another problem with wooden hogs'heads is the fact that they are never of exactly the same uniform dimensions, since each barrel is formed of a plurality of staves, each of which has been individually manufactured. Consideration must also be given to the fact that assernbly and disassembly operations, where there are a plurality of individual staves to be handled, require extensive manipulation and hence further tend to increase the manufacturing and/or maintenance costs of such wooden hogsheads. Finally, there is a very serious problem with the external hardware used on wooden hogsheads. Such external hardware can taken the form of rings, hinges, hoops, reinforcement means, or other forms of fastening means, which are utilized to maintain the staves in their proper assembled relationship. Such external hardware is constantly being knocked off or damaged during shipment and handling, and must therefore be constantly replaced or repaired. Also, such external hardware prevents the hogshead from being placed upon its side and easily rolled. Furthermore, even, if such rolling is attempted and can be done with difficulty, the external hardware damages the floor across which the hogshead is being rolled.

From the foregoing discussion, it should be apparent that there are numerous deficiencies and drawbacks associated with the conventional form of wooden hogshead which is currently used in the tobacco industry. Such drawbacks have, of course, been recognized by others, and there have been in the past, numerous attempts to overcome the shortcomings associated with such wooden hogsheads. Without delving at length into each of these prior art attempts, it can nevertheless be broadly stated that such attempts were directed toward the use of paper or fibreboard hogsheads in place of the conventional wooden hogsheads. However, while such prior art attempts could and did overcome certain problems associated with wooden hoigsheads, they still did not reach a commercially acceptable stage. For example, it been proposed to use a cylindrical paper body for a hogshead, but such a cylindrical paper body could not be disassembled, and hence took up a great amount of space when being shipped in an empty condition. Also, certa-in proposed fibreboard hogsheads used the same or similar types of external hardware as was used on Wooden hogsheads, and thus the difiiculties with such external hardware, previously alluded to, remained present. Furthermore, previously suggested fibreboard hogsheads often utilized permanently attached end closures, which were satisfactory for retaining the tobacco in the ho-gsheads, but when it became necessary to remove such end closures, the entire hogsheads had to be broken apart. Finally, it might be stated that numerous forms of proposed fibreboard hogsheads have been tested by the tobacco industry, but until the present time no such proposed hogshead has t 3 received even a modicum of commercial acceptance in the tobacco industry.

As a fairly recent example of the form of fibreboard hogshead being proposed, attention is directed to United States Patent No. 3,145,897, issued to E. S. Kordowski. Kord-owski suggests a fibreboard hogshead formed of a rectangular blank, and having a side seam with a pressure sensitive material thereon, whereby the rectangular blank may be converted into a tubular configuration. The drawbacks with the use of a pressure sensitive material are readily apparent to those skilled in the art. First of all, such material tends to pick up dust, scraps of dirt, and other impurities which might work their way into the tobacco within the hogshead. Moreover, pressure sensitive material deteriorates with age, and it is unlikely that such material could maintain its adhesive qualities during the two year period of storage encountered in the aging process. It is even questionable whether such pressure sensitive material could withstand the steam and temperature conditions encountered during the prizin-g operation. Still further, if the pressure sensitive material in the Kordowski hogshead were strong enough to remain closed for the requisite period of time, then such material would be too strong to permit easy opening of the hogshead. Alternatively, if the pressure sensitive material were selected to permit easy opening of the hogshead, then it is unlikely that such pressure sensitive material would have the requisite strength requirements. Although this aspect of the Kordowski construction would appear to be the most questionable, there still remain numerous features on the Kordowski hogshead which prevent the same from being fully commercially acceptable. It can be seen that the Kordowski construction utilizes external hardware, which, as aforesaid, is highly objectionable and has numerous drawbacks. Also, Kordowski suggests the use of numerous wooden cleats spaced along the upper and lower margins of his hogshead, and such cleats are also subject to damage and deterioration during processing and handling operations.

With the foregoing matter firmly in mind, it is therefore, an object of the present invention to overcome the difficulties and deficiencies associated with prior art forms of hogsheads and to provide in their stead, an improved from of fibreboard hogshead.

Another object of the present invention is to provide a fibreboard hogshead which is especially adapted for use in tobacco processing, handling and shipping operations.

Further objects of the present invention include the provision of a fibreboard hogshead which: (a) is rugged and durable; (b) can withstand the environmental conditions encountered in tobacco handling, shipping and storing operations; is capable of storing a product for extended periods of time without deterioration; (d) can be easily handled and manipulated; (e) can be easily disassembled, when empty, for shipment in a compact manner; (f) can be used as a utility carrier, when not filled with a tobacco product; and (g) is relatively inexpensive to manufacture, yet can be used and reused numerous times.

Still further objects of the present invention include the provision of an improved form of hogshead which: (1) has a relatively smooth external surface .and is generally free of external hardware; (2) is formed of tough, highstrength virgin kraft; (3) can be formed exclusively of fibreboard; (4) is formed of composite parts which are interconnected by an improved fastening means; (5) is manufactured witha predetermined quantity of extensibility; (6) is l-ight-weight and is of uniform dimensions; (7) is especially adapted to allow a tobacco product to be processed and aged therein; and (8) assures that no impurities or adulteration can reach a product housed therewithin.

Numerous other objects, advantages and salient features of the present invention will become apparent from the following detailed description, which, taken in connection with annexed drawings, discloses a preferred embodiment thereof.

The foregoing objects are attained by providing a generally cylindrical fibreboard container which has been longitudinally split in half. A slide fastener means is attached along the inside of each of the split edges on each of the hogshead halves. When the hogshead halves are juxtaposed to one another to form a generally cylindrical tubular hogshead, adjacent slide fastener means may be mated with one another to thus zip the hogshead into a single tubular container means. Appropriate end closures may be attached at opposite ends of the hogshead, by various suitable forms of fastening means, in order to thus render the hogshead capable of containing tobacco. The slide fastener means is formed at least in part of an elastic or stretchable material whereby the assembled hogshead is provided with a certain amount of elasticity of extensibility. After the tobacco has been suitably processed and aged within the hogshead, and it becomes desirable to remove the tobacco for final manufacturing operations, the slide fastener means can merely be unzipped to permit removal of the tobacco from within the hogshead. The hogshead halves may then be nested with one another, and these nested halves together with the end closures and the fastening means can be shipped back to their point of origin in a compact condition.

Referring to the drawings:

FIGURE 1 is a perspective view of a fibreboard hogshead in accordance with the principles of the present invention;

FIGURE 2 is a perspective view of the body sections of the hogshead of FIGURE 1 in a disassembled and nested condition;

FIGURE 3 is a fragmentary sectional view of the hogshead showing a modified manner of attaching an end closure therein;

FIGURE 4 is a fragmentary sectional view taken along line 44 of FIGURE 3;

FIGURE 5 is a top plan view of the hogshead with a further modified means for attaching an end closure thereto;

FIGURE 6 is a fragmentary sectional view taken along line 66 of FIGURE 5 and showing the end closure fastening means in operative condition;

FIGURE 7 is a fragmentary sectional view, similar to FIGURE 6, but showing the end closure fastening means in an inoperative condition;

FIGURE 8 is fragmentary sectional view of still a further modified means for attaching an end closure to the hogshead;

FIGURE 9 is a perspective view showing a plurality of hogsheads having a fastening means of the type shown in FIGURE 8, with such hogsheads being in a stacked condition; and,

FIGURE 10 is a fragmentary sectional view of still another modified means for attaching an end closure to the hogshead.

In genaral, the present invention provides a fibreboard hogshead generally designated 10 and having a split body generally designated 12, joined together by a slide fastener means generally designated 14. At opposite ends of the container, end closure means generally designated 16 are provided.

The container 10 is fabricated from a paper or fibreboard manufactured of long fiber virgin kraft, having an average fiber length of between 1.5 and 4.0 mm. The use of such a fibreboard material assures that the container material is of a tough, high-strength construction while at the same time minimizing the weight of such material.

In the manufacturing of the hogshead of the present invention, the initial manufacturing operation consists of transforming a sheet or web of the aforementioned virgin kraft into a cylindrical configuration. This transformation is accomplished by means of a conventional spiral winding or convolute winding operation. Equipment for performing either of these winding operations is commercially available, and is well-known in the paper trade and paper manufacturing industries As a result of such a winding operation the kraft fibreboard is transformed into an elongated cylindrical tube of a predetermined diameter. As an alternative, thou-gh equally suitable, manner of forming the tube, laminated kraft sheets can be used, with such sheets being bent to form the cylindrical configuration. Such an elongated tube can then be transversely severed at appropriate locations in order to form predetermined lengths of cylindrical tubing, The length of each such tubing segments will correspond to the height of a finally formed cylindrical hogshead.

Each hogshead body section is then severed along a transverse or axial path, in order to transform the open ended cylindrical body into two semi-cylindrical body halves identified as 12A and 12B. The longitudinal split edge of each of these body halves is identified as 18, with the longitudinal edges on the body half 12A being identified as 18A and the longitudinal edges on the body half 12B being identified as 183.

To assemble the body halves 12A and 12B together to form a generally unitary fibreboard hogshead 10, a slide fastener means 14 is provided between each set of adjacent edges 18A and 183. As is conventional, the slide fastener means includes two sections, each being formed of an elongated tape 20 having a series of spaced slide fastener elements or teeth 22 extending from one edge thereof. A conventional slide 24 is connected to one section of a pair of mating tape sections whereby, when the end of the opposite tape section is inserted into the slide member, the slide may be moved longitudinally to engage the teeth 22 on the mating sections into interlocking engagement in the conventional manner.

Each tape section 20 of the slide fastener or zipper means 14 is formed of a stretchable resilinent material. The particular material from which each tape section is formed is not necessarily critical provided that such material be able to withstand the environmental con ditions encountered during processing and still maintain its desired characteristics. For example, such material must be able to stretch for a certain distance without exceeding its elastic limit. Furthermore, such material must be able to withstand the steam and high temperature conditions encountered during a prizing operation, and must be able to tolerate extended storage conditions encountred during the aging process. Additionally such materials must be high-strength and non-corrosive. An example of one such material, is a stretchable fabric woven of a series of extensible threads formed, for example, of spandex fibers. The teeth or fastener elements 22 which are attached to the tape section 2% are formed of an inert, tough, plastic material, as for example, a polyolefin.

Each section of the zipper is attached to a body half of the container adjacent an elongated edge 18. The manner for accomplishing such an attachment is by an adhesive bond. As such, a suitable adhesive material is interposed between a non-toothed edge of a tape section 20 and the interior of a body half adjacent the edge 18. This adhesive material must be a high-strength, long-life waterproof adhesive and can, for example, be formed essentially of a polyester, a phenolic, a polyamide, dextrines, or other similar suitable compositions. As an alternative, if the zipper tape itself is formed of a plastic material, the adhesive attachment may be accomplished by heat sealing the zipper tape to the interior of the fibreboard body half.

In the actual construction of a hogshead of this type, the exact materials used and the size and dimensions of such materials are governed by a particular operational requirement. This operational requirement is particularly critical in the pressing operation, which, as aforementioned, takes place when the tobacco is forced into the hogshead under pressure from an enlarged piston or other suitable pressurizing means. It is required that during such a pressing operation, the hogshead have an 8% extensibility factor. That is, the hogshead must be constructed to diametrically enlarge 8% beyond its initial dimensions during a pressing operation. If, for example, the kraft material from which the body sections 12 were fabricated were considered to be completely inelastic, then each zipper tape section 20 would have to provide an extensibility or stretchability of 2%. Since four such tape sections 20 are provided, as is shown in FIGURE 1, these tape sections alone could provide the requisite 8% extensibility. On the other hand, as a possible alternative construction, the body might be formed in whole or in part of an extensible paper, which, in itself, could stretch during the pressing operation, The quality of extensibility can be formed into the paper during the drying process. Naturally, if such an extensible paper were incorporated into the body of the hogshead, the requirements for extensibility of the slide fastener 14 would be diminished. Having this requirement of operational extensibility in mind, it is desired to keep the exposed width of the zipper 14 to a minimum, with the exposed width defining the width between adjacent longitudinal edges 18A and 1813. It is, of course, required that this width be great enough to provide clearance for operation of the slide member 24 which enables opening and closing of the zipper.

Referring now to the end closures 16 to be used on the hogshead, such end closures may be fabricated as planar discs of plywood, paperboard, or other similar suitable materials. There are numerous suitable ways for such end closures to be removably attached at opposite ends of the hogshead body 12, and while certain alternative proposals for attaching such end closures are set forth hereinafter, it will be appreciated that in its broadest aspects, the present invention merely requires that end closures be removably secured at opposite ends of the body, and that the manner of accomplishing such removable securance can be varied to include numerous attachment means other than those illustrated and described hereinafter.

In the embodiment of FIGURES 1 and 2, the end closure 16 is retained in place by split retaining ring sections 26, one of which is disposed within each of the body halves 12A and 12 3. It will be noted that such retaining ring sections are spaced inward slightly from the end of the body itself. The retaining ring sections 26 may be fabricated of wood, plastic, paper, or any other suitable material. Such split ring sections may be secured in place permanently as by adhesively attaching them to the interior of the body halves, or alternatively, may be removably attached to the body halves by screws, nails, clips or other similar fastening devices, providing that such fastening device do not project beyond the exterior periphery of the body walls 12.

For an understanding of the manner in which end closures 16 may be attached in a hogshead as shown in FIGURES 1 and 2, a description of the use of such hogshead Will not be set forth. Even assuming that the retaining ring sections 26' are permanently attached to the body sections 12, the end closures 16 may nevertheless be suitably placed into position. First of all, the two body halves 12A and 12B are juxtaposed to one another and the zippers or slide fasteners 14 are initially mated along the bottom of the hogshead. Then, the bottom end closure 16 is placed inside the hogshead, to rest upon the bottom retaining ring sections 26. The slide fastener means 14 may then be entirely zipped to the top of the hogshead, to thus form a cylindrical container open at the upper end thereof. Such a container may then be used in the pn'zing operation, and when such an operation has been completed, and the prized leaves have been destemmed, the web portion of such leaves may be placed into the hogshead 10. As aforesaid, such leaves are pressed into the hogshead by means of a large piston or other suitable pressurizing means, which forces the leaves into the hogshead in a compact mass. Similarly, as aforesaid, during such a pressing operation the hogshead enlarges approximately 8%. Once a suitable quantity of tobacco has been pressed and compacted into the container, it then becomes necessary to properly position the top end closure 16. To accomplish such positioning, the slide fastener means 14 may be unzipped slightly. The tobacco in the hogshead will be compacted firmly into a plug and thus will not tend to drop out as the slide fastener means 14 is unzipped. The top end closure 16 may then be inserted beneath the top retaining ring sections 26, and the slide fastener means may then be zipped up again.

If, as opposed to the foregoing discussion, the retaining ring sections 26 are removably mounted in place by individual fastening means such as screws, the closing operation of the hogshead is somewhat simplified. In this instance, the operation would be the same up until termination of the pressing process. Then, the top end closure 16 would merely be placed upon the top of the compacted mass of tobacco, and the retaining ring sections 26 could then be placed over the top end closure and suitably attached to the hogshead body halves.

In either event, it should be apparent that after the tobacco has been suitably aged in the hogshead, the hogshead itself can be completely disassembled for shipment in a compact and nested manner. An illustration of such nesting is shown in FIGURE 2. Each of the body halves 12 can be placed inside another body half to form a stack of nested halves. The retaining ring sections 26 may remain attached to the respective body halves during such nesting. The only other portion of the hogshead to be shipped would be the end closures 16 and a great number of such end closures 16 may then be stacked, one upon another. In such a manner, it should be apparent that hundreds of such hogsheads may be nested for shipping in a compact manner, and yet will not require any more volume of space than was previously required by only a few of the fully assembled hogsheads,

With the foregoing material now in mind, attention is directed to FIGURES 38, wherein various forms of end closure fastening means are illustrated.

Referring now to FIGURE 3, it will be noted that the slide fastener means 14 terminates slightly short of the ends of the body sections 12A and 12B. The purpose of this foreshortening of the slide fastener means 14 is to enable a continuous cylindrical retaining ring 28 to be utilized to position the end closures 16. To this end, an annular groove 30 is provided at each end of each body half beyond the terminal end of the slide fastener means 14, with the grooves in the body half 12A being identified as 30A and the grooves in the body half 12B being identified as 30B. The continuous retaining ring 28 can be positioned with its exterior portion disposed within the annular groove 30, by an insertion operation such as that previously described in connection with FIGURES 1 and 2. In this manner, the inner portion of the ring 28 acts as an abutment surface against which the end closure 16 may bear.

In addition to serving as an illustrative manner of attaching an end closure 16 to the hogshead, FIGURE 4 illustrates an adhesive layer 32 which is used to bond the tape sections 20 of the zipper 14 to the interior of the hogshead. The purpose of this adhesive layer, and illustrative compositions thereof, have been previously discussed in connection with the embodiment shown in FIG- URES 1 and 2, and although this layer 32 is shown and described in connection with FIGURE 4, it will be understood that this is only because FIGURE 4 lends itself to an illustration of such a layer. It will, however, be understood that an adhesive layer 32 is utilized in each embodiment of the present invention.

If reference is now made to FIGURES 57, a still further modification of end closure attachment means is illustrated. Such an attachment means can be generally designated 34 and includes a central hub portion 36, an outer peripheral ring portion 38 surrounding the central hub, and a series of spokes 40 interconnecting the hub and ring portions. The entire attachment means 34 can be fabricated of molded plastic, paper laminates, or other similar suitable materials. Each of the spokes 40 is provided with a hollow passageway 42 in which an elongated rib 44 can be mounted. As shown in FIGURES 6 and 7, each such rib has a tapered outer face 46 and inner face 48. A cam member 50 mounted on a threaded screw stem 52 is disposed Within a cavity 54 in the hub section 36. An operating handle or knob 56 is attached to the upper end of the stem 52 above the hub 36.

Each of the ribs 44 is normally biased inward by means of a tensioning spring 58 connected between the rib and a spoke member 40. When the cam member 50 is in its raised position, as shown in FIGURE 7, the biasing springs urge the ribs inwardly so that the outer ends 46 thereof do not project beyond the periphery of the ring portion 38. In this manner, the attachment device 34 may be easily inserted in place over an end closure 16. Then, if the operating knob 56 is turned to thread the cam member downwardly, such cam member abuts against the inner tapered face 48 of each of the ribs 44, and urges them outwardly against the bias of the spring 58. In this manner, the outer tapered face 46 of each rib projects beyond the peripheral ring portion 38 and bites into the fiber of the hogshead 10, as shown in FIG- URE 6. This serves to prevent outward movement of the end closures 16, once the same have been suitably positioned upon a tobacco mass compacted within the hogshead 10.

Referring now to FIGURE 8, a still further modified form of end closure and end closure attachment means is illustrated. In FIGURE 8, the end closure is broadly designated 16' and is formed exclusively of fibreboard. Such an end closure includes a central panel 60 which merges into an upstanding, generally vertical wall 62, which in turn folds into an arcuate web 64 and then merges downwardly in a generally vertical skirt portion 66. As such, an end closure of this type can compatibly fit over the end of the body walls 12 of a fibreboard hogshead 10. Again, as with previously described embodiments, it is necessary that this end closure 16 be removably attached to the hogshead, to enable ready opening and disassembly of the hogshead. Thus, while numerous suitable forms of attachment means may be utilized to accomplish such removable attachment, it is again important that such attachment means do not project beyond the exterior of the skirt portion 66 to thus create the problems previously alluded to in the discussion of external hardware on prior art hogsheads. As an example of a suitable form of attachment means, FIGURE 8 illustrates a first internally threaded collar 68 mounted within the skirt 66 and a second somewhat similar internally threaded collar 70 mounted within the vertical wall portion 62. The outermost collar 68 is countersunk within the skirt 66, so that its head portion does not project beyond the external periphery of the skirt. Either the outer collar 68, the inner collar 70, or both, terminate somewhat short of the body wall 12, to enable the fibreboard of the end closure 16' to be somewhat compressed during fastening thereof. A hollow grommet or collar 72 can be provided within the body wall 12, as shown. To accomplish the attachment of the end closure 16, an elongated threaded bolt 74 is utilized, with such threaded bolt being provided with a wing nut type head 76, if desired. Once the end closure has been properly positioned on the hogshead in such a manner that the openings through the collars 68 and 70 align with the openings through the grommet 72, the bolt 74 may be threaded into position by rotation of the wing nut head 76. Once the bolt 74 is threaded into the collar 68, it tends to drive the collars 68 and 70 toward one another. Further tightening of the bolt 74 will thus result in a compressing of the fiber between the end of the collar 70 and the hogshead body wall 12, to assure a tight and hermetic attachment of the end closure to the hogshead. Several such attachment means may be utilized on a single end closure, with the orientation of such attachment means being dis posed at equal intervals about the periphery of the hogshead.

As will be apparent, a hogshead of the type illustrated in FIGURE 8 has certain distinct advantages. For instance, When the hogshead is placed upon its side, only the skirt portions 66 of the upper and lower end closures would contact the floor, and the body walls themselves are thus spared any abuse or wear. Similarly, when the hogsheads are placed in a. stacked condition, as shown in FIGURE 9, and as is customarily encountered during the aging operation, a finite space is provided between the body walls of each of the stacked hogsheads. In this manner, air is free to circulate between each of the hogsheads, and such hogsheads are thus able to breathe during the tobacco aging process.

Finally referring to FIGURE 10, still another modified form of end closure and attachment means is illustrated. Such an end closure is broadly designated 16", can be formed of fibreboard, paper laminates or the like, and closely resembles the end closure 16 of FIGURE '8. As such, end closure 16" has a central panel 60 and an upstanding vertical wall 62 which terminates at or nearly at the end of the hogshead body wall. An internally threaded collar 68 is disposed in a countersink in the body wall 12 so that the collar head portion does not project beyond the external periphery of the hogshead. An aligned internally threaded collar 70 is mounted within the vertical wall 62 of the closure 16". An elongated bolt 74 maybe threaded through the aligned collars 68 and 70 to thus attach the end closure to the body walls 12 of the hogshead. As shown, the length of the collar 68 may be somewhat less than the width of the body wall 12 to thus assure that such body wall will be compressed inwardly when the bolt 74 is tightened. It will, of course, be apparent that those fastening means shown in FIGURES 8l0 are only illustrative and that numerous other suitable forms of fastening devices may be employed.

Thus, it can be seen that the hogshead of the present invention provides a unique and highly useful container, while at the same time departing from the construction and concept utilized for a great many years in prior art forms of hogsheads. Not only does a hogshead in accordance with the principles of the present invention provide a stronger, cheaper, more useful and longer-life form of container, but furthermore, it provides a container construction which can be easily assembled and disassembled quickly and preferably without the use of complex tools. As an example of the dimensional characteristics of a suitable form of hogshead of this type, the height of the body walls 12 may be 48 inches, and the external diameter of such a hogshead may be likewise 48 inches. The walls themselves may be formed of a kraft paper, or a laminated kraft paper, having a thickness of approximately one quarter inch. The end closures may be formed of one half inch thick plywood, having a diameter of 47 /2 inches. A nylon retaining ring having a one inch width may be used to retain such end closures on the hogshead. It will, of course, be understood that the foregoing dimensions are .by way of exemplification and not by way of limitation, and the novel aspects of construction of the present invention may be used to form a hogshead having any desired dimensions.

After reading the foregoing detailed description, it should be apparent that the objects set forth at the outset of the specification have been successfully achieved.

Accordingly, what is claimed is:

1. A disassemblable hogshead for holding, processing, shipping and storing tobacco, comprising:

a wound tubular fibrebo-ard body longitudinally split into at least two arcuate sections, each having a pair of longitudinal edges;

a slide fastener means disposed between adjacent longitudinal edges on said respective sect-ions to selectively connect said sections together to form a tubular body;

said slide fastener means including a pair of elongated tape sections, each having teeth along one elongated edge thereof;

one of said tape sections being attached to the interior of each body section along each longitudinal edge thereof;

each of said attached tape sections having the toothed edge thereof extending beyond its respective body longitudinal edge;

said slide fastener means further including a slide member for each pair of tape sect-ions whereby, when a set of opposed teeth are inserted into said slide member, said slide member may be selectively moved longitudinally to mesh said opposed teeth into interlocking en gagement;

said slide member longitudinal movement in one direction being operative to assemble said body sections into an assembled tubular housing;

said slide member longitudinal movement in an opposite direct-ion .being operative to disassemble said tubular housing into individual disassembled body sections which may be compactly nested with one another;

said hogshead further being adapted to have a pair of end closures mounted at opposite open longitudinal ends thereof to define a closed chamber within said body wherein tobacco can be contained; and

means for removably attaching said end closures to said hogshead ends whereby said end closures may be removed when said hogshead is disassembled.

2. A disassemblable hogshead as defined in claim 1 wherein said tape sections are fabricated of a stretchable material.

3. A disassemblable hogshead as defined in claim 2 wherein the cumulative stretchability of all of said tape sections is sufiicient to permit lateral expansion of said hogshead to approximately 8% beyond its original lateral dimensions, when tobacco is being pressed into said hogshead.

4. A disassemblable hogshead as defined in claim 1 wherein said tape sections are adhesively secured to said body sections.

5. A disassemblable hogshead as defined in claim 1 wherein said means for removably attaching said end closures includes a split ring means secured to the interior of said ho gshead body adjacent its opposite ends.

6. A disassemblable hogshead as defined in claim 5 wherein said split ring means is permanently secured to said hogshead.

7. A disassemblable hogshead as defined in claim 1 wherein said means for removably attaching said end closures includes an annular ring member disposed partially within an annular groove adjacent opposite ends of said hogshead body.

8. A disassemblable hogshead as defined in claim 1 wherein said means for removably attaching said end closures includes a member having a plurality of radially movable ribs therein and a selectively operable cam means for urging said ribs radially outwardly into engagement with said hogshead body.

9. A disassemblable hogshead as defined in claim 1 wherein said end closures are provided with an offset peripheral groove adapted to nest over the terminal end of said body walls and wherein said means includes at least one threaded fastening device securing said end closore to said body.

UNITED STATES PATENTS 509,155 11/1893 Frothingham.

Hutchinson 22967 X Galvin et a1. 22941 Fowler 217--12 McCrery 229-45 Kordowski 229-67 X GEORGE O. RALSTON, Primary Examiner. 

1. A DISASSEMBLABLE HOGSHEAD FOR HOLDING, PROCESSING, SHIPPING AND STORING TOBACCO, COMPRISING: A WOUND TUBULAR FIBREBOARD BODY LONGITUDINALLY SPLIT INTO AT LEAST TWO ARCUATE SECTIONS, EACH HAVING A PAIR OF LONGITUDINAL EDGES; A SLIDE FASTENER MEANS DISPOSED BETWEEN ADJACENT LONGITUDINAL EDGES ON SAID RESPECTIVE SECTIONS TO SELECTIVELY CONNECT SAID SECTIONS TOGETHER TO FORM A TUBULAR BODY; SAID SLIDE FASTENER MEANS INCLUDING A PAIR OF ELONGATED GAPE SECTIONS, EACH HAVING TEETH ALONG ONE ELONGATED EDGE THEREOF; ONE OF SAID TAPE SECTIONS BEING ATTACHED TO THE INTERIOR OF EACH BODY SECTION ALONG EACH LONGITUDINAL EDGE THEREOF; EACH OF SAID ATTACHED TAPE SECTIONS HAVING THE TOOTHED EDGE THEREOF EXTENDING BEYOND ITS RESPECTIVE BODY LONGITUDINALLY EDGE; SAID SLIDE FASTENER MEANS FURTHER INCLUDING A SLIDE MEMBER FOR EACH PAIR OF TAPE SECTIONS WHEREBY, WHEN A SET OF OPPOSED TEETH ARE INSERTED INTO SAID SLIDE MEMBER, SAID SLIDE MEMBER MAY BE SELECTIVELY MOVED LONGITUDINALLY TO MESH SAID OPPOSED TEETH INTO INTERLOCKING ENGAGEMENT; SAID SLIDE MEMBER LONGITUDINAL MOVEMENT IN ONE DIRECTION BEING OPERATIVE TO ASSEMBLE SAID BODY SECTIONS INTO AN ASSEMBLED TUBULAR HOUSING; SAID SLIDE MEMBER LONGITUDINAL MOVEMENT IN AN OPPOSITE DIRECTION BEING OPERATIVE TO DISASSEMBLE SAID TUBULAR HOUSING INTO INDIVIDUAL DISASSEMBLED BODY SECTIONS WHICH MAY BE COMPACTLE NESTED WITH ONE ANOTHER; SAID HOGSHEAD FURTHER BEING ADAPTED TO HAVE A PAIR OF END CLOSURES MOUNTED AT OPPOSITE OPEN LONGITUDINAL ENDS THEREOF TO DEFINE A CLOSED CHAMBER WITHIN SAID BODY WHEREIN TOBACCO CAN BE CONTAINED; AND MEANS FOR REMOVABLY ATTACHING SAID END CLOSURES TO SAID HOGSHEAD ENDS WHEREBY SAID END CLOSURES MAY BE REMOVED WHEN SAID HOGSHEAD IS DISASSEMBLED. 